Paluch Tibor: Egy középső neolitikus lelőhely a kultúrák határvidékén. A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Monographia Archeologica 2. (Szeged, 2011)

Maroslele-Pana: A Middle Neolithic Site at the Frontier of Cultures

PALUCH Tibor • MAROSLELE-PANA: EG Y KÖZÉPSŐ NEOLITIKUS LELŐHEL Y A KULTÚRÁK HA TÁR VIDÉKÉN 69 MAROSLELE-PANA: A MIDDLE NEOLITHIC SITE AT THE FRONTIER OF CULTURES Tibor PALUCH MAROSLELE: GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY Maroslele is located in southeastern Hungary, between the Tisza and Maros rivers, on the right bank of the latter (Fig. 1. 1). This settlement, along with 13 other villages, constitutes a part of Marosszög (literally, the "Maros corner"), a geographical area of 500 km

2 (MAROSI-SOMOGYI 1990,210). Geomorphology The Marosszög area is a floodplain, 78-88 m above sea level. This plain, a geomorphological bed of 5000 km

2, is encircled by the Maros, Tisza, and Körös rivers and consists of young geological deposits. The Tisza-Maros region can be divided into two main parts: the central Tisza-Maros region and the Csanád-plate (HORVÁTH 1996, 125). Recent surface formations are the results of the depositional activity of the ancient Maros River. A huge quantity of sediment was deposited on the edge of the Great Hungarian Plain and then the alluvial fan was covered by loess. Most of the area encircled by the Körös, Maros, and Tisza rivers is covered by a loess-like but more consolidated material on which excellent chernozemic soils have formed (PÉCSI-SÁRFALVI 1960, 105). In the area of Maroslele and in 95% of the area between the Maros and Körös rivers the bedroock is composed of loess and loess-like Pleistocene deposits (STEFANOVITS 1981, 20). On the deep alluvia that cover 53% of the region waterlogged hydromorphic soils were formed, especially gleysol (STEFANOVITS 1981, 310). Climate The region's typical Great Plain climate is influenced by the Apuseni Mountains; consequently, two climate variations are present in the area. The northwestern part is wann and dry with a hot summer, while the southeastern region is also warm but less dry. This area has the highest insolation in the country with more than 2100 sunshine hours per year; the annual average temperature is 10,5°C (MAROSI-SOMOGYI 1990, 211). The southern part of the Lower Tisza region is windy, with a predominantly northeastern wind; the northwestern wind typical for the rest of the country occurs here only rarely (BULLA MENDÖL 1999. 147). Precipitation increases from the northwest to the southeast. Average precipitation at the mouth of the Maros River reaches 580 millimetres annually, while in the area of Makó it is 600 millimetres. Hydrogeology The most important watercourse of the area is the Maros River. Only one segment of the river flows in the Great Plain. During the Holocene the Tisza's rivercourse moved in a northwestern direction, and the rivercourse section between present-day settlements of Szentes and Szeged was cut into the alluvial plain due to the overall sinking of the whole Körös area; the Maros watercourse was also cut into the plain. The Maros River deposited its silt on alluvial fans (MIKE 1991, 684; TEPLÁN 2003, 38). After building a high-deposit fan, the water left its bed and flowed to lower places, where it started depositing silt again (PEJA 1935, 10-11; GAZDAG 1960, 257). The fan of the deposit covers a semicircular plains area 80-100 km in diameter (MAROSI-SZILÁRD 1969, 301). This Late Pleistocene alluvial fan was covered with loess at the end of the Würm glacial stage, and the Maros watercourse and its tributaries cut through this thin layer of loess. At the end of the Pleistocene period the Maros watercourse moved the alluvial fan downslope, and the former tributaries were cut off and were underwater only following floods. The two largest tributaries are the Száraz-ér to the north and the Aranka to the south (LÁNG 1960, 36). Flora As respects the composition of the plant cover, the Carpathian Basin is considered part of the Pannonian Floristic Region. Vegetation in the Marosszög area of the Hungarian Plain Floristic District consists of ecological associations of the Festuco rupicolae - Quercetum

, the Festuco pseudovinae Quereetum

, the Aceri tatarico-Quercetum and the Fraxino pannonicae - Ulmetum. The original flora of the alluvial fans of the Tisza and Maros rivers has been preserved by the primary successions of the riverbeds, the floodplain forests, and the swamp vegetation of the backwaters. Lightly cultivated grasslands and pasture as well as dry alkaline grasslands are present in the area. Remnants of the original vegetation are mostly found on the floodplain fringes of the rivers (MAROSI-SZILÁRD 1969, 163). History Maroslele was first mentioned in a charter in 1274, as Lele {Leleu, Lelee in Chanad) (GYÖRFFY 1963, 863). The origin of the settlement's name is still unknown, but the personal name that the settlement's name originates from is probably derived from the old Hungarian word lléT (soul, spirit) (BLAZOVICH 1996, 188). One part of the village belonged to the Makófalvi family, the other half to the Tömpösi family (GYÖRFFY 1963, 863). Following the Turkish campaign of 1552 the village was completely destroyed in the Fifteen Years' War (ROZSNYAI 2000, 17). The exact date of repopulation is unknown due to a lack of proper sources. The mid-eighteenth-century gardens called Kis- and Nagylele can under no circumstances be considered a continuation or revival of the medieval village of Maroslele. In the middle of the 1700s, pauper peasants from Makó moved to the area and engaged in tobacco cultivation. The village was officially recognized as a settlement in 1873. In 1908, the settlement's name was changed to Püspökiele (püspök meaning bishop) in honour of Sándor Desewffy, the bishop of Csanád, a popular and highly respected figure among the local residents. The name changed again in 1950, when - after the establishment of the local council - the village was again called Maroslele. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE The archaeological site of Maroslele-Pana is located on a rise northwest of the recent settlement of Maroslele and 10 km at the confluence of the Porgány and Kövesd streams, 3 km from the confluence of the Tisza and Maros rivers (Fig. 1. 2).